Heartlines
by streetsong
Summary: Quinn's struggling without a support network and the only person who notices or cares is one Rachel Berry.
1. Chapter 1

"You're just like those_ disgusting_ girls at school, your so called 'skanks'! Don't walk away from me! Quinn Fabray, you get back here right now! _This instant, Quinn_!" her father shouted. He was always shouting. Quinn ignored it and walked right out the front door, lighting a cigarette as soon as her foot hit the pavement.

Those chemicals pulsing through her system. It felt so _good_.

She continued walking and drawing on the cigarette, exhaling and filling the night air with smoke, until she reached the deserted park.

"Good, you're here." Mack stepped towards Quinn, a bottle of scotch in her hand. "I thought I'd find you here."

"There aren't a lot of places I can go." Quinn light another cigarette, the tip glowing in the darkness of the park.

"Yeah, I know. How's the 'rents?" Mack lights her own cigarette using the tip of Quinn's lit cigarette.

"Same as always. Shouting about how I'm such a failure and not living up to the Fabray name. 'Why can't you be more like Frannie? She's in _law school_ now!'. Whatever."

"Ugh, lame. Here, have some scotch, it'll help. Ronnie and Sheila couldn't make it out tonight, though. Just you and me, Q."

The scotch burns going down her throat but once it settles it feels warm and safe. Quinn feels warm and safe. Warmth and smoke filled her lungs.

"What, their parents throw a fit about them going out again? What about yours?"

"Yours threw a fit, too. And nah, my parents don't care where I am."

"Yeah, but I ignore them. They're always shouting at someone about something. Usually each other. Which makes them too busy to notice I'm not there."

"Tell me about it. Q, I've got something for you." Mack pulls out a packet full of weed.

"You're brilliant, Mack."

"Yeah, yeah, don't inflate my ego too much." she rolled two joints for them, lit them and handed one to Quinn.

Quinn lay back in the grass, inhaling on the joint, taking sips of Scotch from the bottle and staring up at the stars. Everything felt warm and cozy and safe. No, she couldn't look at the stars any longer, they made her think of Rachel Berry. Why was she thinking of Rachel? Quinn told herself it was just the alcohol and the weed. Drunk and high people say all kinds of crazy things. Yeah, that was it.


	2. Chapter 2

She could hear tiny feet hitting the pavement behind her, someone small struggling to match her long strides. She smirked and stopped, she knew it was Rachel Berry. She'd memorised the sound of those footsteps a long time ago.

"Quinn, wait!" Rachel finally caught up to her.

"Rachel." Quinn turned to face the out of breath brunette.

"You've been avoiding me all week, I've been trying to talk to you."

"Why do you want to talk to me? To tell me how messed up I am now?"

"Wait, have people been telling you those things? Who said those things? They're wrong, Quinn, you're not messed up. I know you're under a lot of pressure from your family and things and no one's really supported you through everything you've gone through lately." Rachel had expected Quinn to interrupt by now but she stood there staring at Rachel so she took the opportunity to continue, "You've hurt me in the past and I understand why you did and said those things, and Quinn, you're still the prettiest girl I've ever met, and you're so much more than that. It's a shame that no one sees it."

_Oh, god. _Quinn vividly recalled that day she had slapped Rachel in a bathroom at prom and instead of crying or running away, Rachel had stayed and _cared_ for her. '_I'm so sorry.' _

She'd forgotten how to think.

"Are you still scared?" Rachel stepped closer to Quinn.

"Of what?"

"You told me once you were scared of the future. When all this is gone. You don't need to be."

"It's not really that easy. I can't just stop being scared." She closed the distance between her and Rachel.

"I really care about you, Quinn, and I'm sorry that you're so sad and I-" Rachel locked her eyes onto Quinn's. Quinn could feel the heat radiating from Rachel's body. Or was it her own body? Or both. She wasn't sure if either one of them had moved since Rachel stopped talking but the distance between them was closing faster and faster. Quinn could feel her heart racing in her chest, like it was going to crash through the bones and muscles at any moment. Rachel's dark eyes searched her hungrily, and Quinn felt like her heart was pounding and immobilised at the same time. Whether it was from nervousness or fear or excitement, she couldn't quite tell. Rachel was close enough to kiss her. If she only leaned a little closer…

"You know, Berry, you're gonna pull a muscle if you keep straining your neck like that."

There. Whatever ridiculous spell Rachel had cast over her was gone. Just what the hell were those feelings? That heat and chemistry. She stepped back, she needed that space between her and Rachel. Before she did something stupid like kiss her.

"I need to go."

Quinn turned and walked away, she didn't even need to look back at Rachel's crushed face, she could already see it in her head.

* * *

><p><em>Fuck. Ugh, okay, don't trip over that curb. Yeah, just lift one foot, then the other. Yep, you got it, Fabray. <em>She staggered to the door and tried to insert her key into the lock only to find that it would not turn. She tried again. And again. _Fuck, now my key isn't working. Did they seriously change the locks while I was out? God damn it._ Quinn pounded on the door. No one answered. She knocked again and rested her head against the door.

"Come on, just let me in," she slurred. The door creaked in its frame, and she managed to stand back before she fall on her face. Which was a miracle in itself, considering how much she'd drunk tonight. Only it wasn't one of her parents staring disapprovingly at her, but Rachel Berry's face.

"Quinn? What are you doing, it's three in the morning." Rachel rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up and process the fact that a certain pink-haired girl was reeling on her doorstep.

"Rachel, what are _you _doing here? It's my house. And my key isn't working." Quinn placed a hand against the doorframe to keep from falling.

"No, Quinn, this is _my_ house. How do you even know where I live? Never mind, you'd better come in before my fathers wake up." Rachel put an arm around the inebriated girl and led her inside, closing the door behind them.

"I don't know how you managed to get here in your current state, but it's not safe for you to get back to your house right now, so you can stay here until you've recovered." She helped Quinn up the stairs, hoping the girl wouldn't topple over and trap them both on the stairs. She could only imagine the looks on her fathers' faces if they walked out in the middle of the night to find the former cheerleader who had tortured their daughter lying on top of her halfway up the stairs.

"My parents won't care anyway." Despite the slurred speech, Rachel could comprehend Quinn's words.

"I care, Quinn, even if they don't." Rachel helped her up the last step and turned her in the direction of her bedroom.

"Thanks, Rachel." She let herself be led to the bed and settled under the sheets. "Mmm, your bed is so soft."

"Here, you should have some water." She held the glass to Quinn's lips, tipping it slightly as to not spill it. Rachel set the glass down on her bedside table and slipped in beside Quinn.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"I'm making sure that you don't choke on your own vomit in the night and die. Besides, this is my bed. Now just try and rest and I'll take you home in the morning." She watched Quinn close her eyes and murmur something in her ear. Something that sounded an awful lot like "thank you" and "you're so beautiful". Quinn put her arms around Rachel, and curled into the girl's side.

"Quinn, you, um, you don't need to-" Rachel tried to shift but Quinn held her in some octopus-like death grip. Though she wasn't really complaining, since it was nice to have Quinn Fabray so close and actually touching her without panicking and running away. She really was the most beautiful girl Rachel had ever met, though she wasn't exactly sure why Quinn had stumbled to her house in the middle of the night drunk, but she was glad that Quinn had not been injured in her journey. Rachel leant her head against Quinn's and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Rachel stirred, the early morning light filling the room and stretched her arms. Well, she tried to, only there was some pressure on one side of her body. Feeling flustered and constricted, she glanced at what was causing the pressure. <em>Oh, god, it's Quinn.<em>

"Oh, fuck, my head." Quinn put a hand to it, as if that would stop the pounding inside her head.

"Wait, where the hell am I? Berry, what the _fuck_?" Quinn moved, pulling her arms away from Rachel's body, then collapsed again. "What the fuck happened? Did you do something to me? If you have, Berry, I swear I will-"

"Quinn, just calm down, I haven't done anything to you except get you off the streets and into a bed for a night. Do you even remember hammering on my door at three in the morning?"

A look of confusion appeared on Quinn's face followed by a sharp "what?".

"You were somewhat intoxicated last night and for whatever reason you staggered to my house in the middle of the night and started pounding on the door. Fortunately, I got to it before my fathers woke. I can't imagine they would feel thrilled to see someone who used to torment their daughter trying to break down their door at 3am drunk."

Quinn placed both hands over her eyes and groaned.

"Are-are you okay? Do you need more water?"

"No. I mean, no, I'm fine. Just- fuck, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that to you, that wasn't fair."

"It's okay, Quinn. I'm just glad you weren't injured at all. Is everything okay at home? You said your parents don't care where you are anyway. You look so sad, Quinn. You shouldn't be, you deserve all the happiness in the world." she grabbed one of Quinn's hands and held it in her own. Quinn squeezed the hand and sighed.

"I'll get dressed and take you home." Rachel stepped out of bed, grabbed a dress from her wardrobe and headed for the bathroom.

Quinn rubbed her eye, removed her other hand from her face and opened her eyes at last. She'd never seen Rachel's room, well at least not sober, but she hadn't realised how… _yellow_ it was. Musical posters and framed playbills adorned the bright yellow walls. That didn't surprise Quinn. She got so caught up in admiring the girl's room and how well it suited her that she hadn't noticed Rachel enter the room again.

"Are you okay to go? You're not feeling sick or anything?"

Quinn jumped a little. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine."

She shifted out of the bed, followed Rachel out of the room and promptly crashed into her back. Rachel's fathers stood next to them in the hallway.

"Rachel, would you care to elaborate on why Quinn Fabray is leaving your bedroom?" Hiram asked.

"Uh, well, you see-"

"Sorry, isn't this the same Quinn Fabray who used to torture you? Do you need to tell us something, Rachel?"

"What? No! She just- um, she needed to get out of her home for a night, that's all, and she's not like that anymore! I said she could stay the night if she needed somewhere to just crash. She's a good person, daddy. I was just about to take her home-" Rachel flailed and tried to explain.

"Nothing happened, sirs. I had a fight with my parents and needed to get out and blow off steam so I talked to Rachel and she invited me in to stay the night so I wasn't out on the streets." Quinn stepped in, if only to save Rachel from digging herself further into a hole. Politeness seemed the best path to take to keep Rachel out of trouble, and talking to her. Though Quinn was enjoying the fact that Rachel's face was three shades of red after her fathers had insinuated there was something more to their relationship.

"Well, okay then, if you say so. We're glad you're not hurt, Quinn."

"Thank you."

They slip past the two men and headed back towards Quinn's house. The moment their feet hit the pavement outside Rachel's house, they dissolve into laughing fits.

"Have a lot of girls stay over, Rachel? Or do they just assume anyone that sleeps in your room is, shall we say, not getting any sleep?"

"Quinn!" Rachel blushed and jokingly pushed her.

"That was incredibly awkward, though."

"Yes." Rachel paused, she never wanted to say something and upset Quinn and make her run and panic and not talk to her. "You keep avoiding questions about your parents and your home life. It's not okay there, is it?"

The laughter and joking faded now.

"No, Rachel, it's not." Quinn shoved her hands in her pockets, kept her eyes on the ground and not on Rachel. Rachel kept her eyes on Quinn.

"If you ever want to talk, Quinn, I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Rachel."

"We could spend more time together if you want. I do enjoy your company." Rachel brushed a strand of hair out of her face only for it to fly right back.

"Yeah, that'd be nice, I'd like that." Quinn smiled right back at her


	3. Chapter 3

Sunlight streams through the window filling the room, Rachel lies stretched out on her bed, a soft buzzing from her phone interrupting her daydream. She rubs her eyes and reaches for the device. _New Message (1): Quinn Fabray_. '_Are you free?'._

Rachel tapped out a reply.

- 'Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. I do not currently have any plans for today.'

Quinn's reply was swift: '_Would you like that to change?'_

_- _'Certainly.'

'_I'll be there in ten.'_

* * *

><p>Quinn stares at the clock on the wall, the hands slowly working their way around the face. She looks at Rachel reading on her bed, completely focused on the book. With anyone else the silence would be suffocating, awkward. But not with Rachel. It's never like that with Rachel. It's such a natural feeling for Quinn, so calming, she doesn't need to try to be anyone around Rachel. They can just exist.<p>

Quinn moves slightly, shifting closer to Rachel.

* * *

><p>Rachel tries to stay focused on her book, and not at the pink-haired girl lying next to her. She's read the same page for the last thirty minutes and still hasn't absorbed any of the words. She gives up.<p>

"Are you going to fall asleep every time you come over?" She jokes, nudging Quinn with her elbow.

Quinn laughs, her eyes are already closing. "Shut up. It doesn't happen _every_ time."

Rachel sets the book down, settles into her bed beside Quinn. Quinn curls into her side. They always end up like this, as if magnets lie just beneath their skin, drawing them together.

Quinn's hand rests on Rachel's hip and Rachel runs her finger over it.

"Do you know what you mean to me?"

Quinn draws her breath in, tries to move her hand away but Rachel pulls it to her own hand, intertwining their fingers. Quinn's eyes open and lock onto Rachel's, their faces inches away.

"Rachel-"

"I've never doubted you, Quinn. I always believed in you, I still do." Rachel says and squeezes Quinn's hand.

"People might call you-" she pauses "-horrible things, but that doesn't make them true. You're the most incredible person I've met. You're strong and brave and so resilient. There's so much I admire about you, Quinn. There's no one more important to me than you."

"I've treated you so unkindly. I don't deserve your forgiveness." Quinn looks away from Rachel. All these kind words that she couldn't believe.

"You deserve all the good and happiness in the world." Rachel cups Quinn's face with her hand, ran her thumb across the girl's cheek.

"You say all these wonderful things to me. Things I can't possibly believe." Quinn closes her eyes and places her hand over the one Rachel holds to her cheek.

"I mean every word that I say. It's all true, and you should believe it. I know it's easy to believe the cruel things that people can say." Rachel had stopped moving her thumb on Quinn's cheek some time ago, and the pair were now just lying there, neither one noticing that they'd inched closer to each other.

"You know, I always liked your hair this pink. You should keep this look." Rachel says, moving her hand to the girl's hair, running her fingers through the chopped, pink strands.

"Yeah." Quinn had never seen Rachel's eyes so dark, or her pupils so blown.

Rachel leans closer, and Quinn welcomes the embrace. She'd been waiting so long for this, she can't believe it's real. She also doesn't believe the kind words Rachel speaks to her, but it's becoming easier to believe in them. Quinn's never felt so at home, lying in Rachel's bed, in Rachel's arms, kissing Rachel. Quinn always wanted to come home.


End file.
